Foreign language learning in Australia must be taken more seriously by all key stakeholders including students, parents, teachers, state and federal education ministers and their advisers. More thought needs to be placed on the value of having multiple language skills in a globalised world with opportunities for meaningful application of linguistic skills in support of better economic, social and environmental outcomes for Australia. The European Union has great language policies and programs which can be used a basis for developing customised solutions for Australia.

The proposal by the Leader of the Opposition Mr. Abbott to have 40% of students learning a foreign language within a decade is a great idea. It should be supported by all sides of politics, the community and by Treasury and Finance.

The Australian Macedonian community will welcome any sensible policy in support of language learning innovation, expansion and evolution. At present, the Macedonian language is taught at primary and secondary level across Australia but not a a tertiary level. The community has been asking the Australian Government to introduce Macedonian language and studies at tertiary level for some years now.

Effort needs to be placed on aligning foreign language learning with the needs of key stakeholders with an emphasis on value adding. Funds must also be made available for employing suitable academic and teaching staff who can deliver the foreign language strategy. A new educational campaign needs to be directed at students and their potential employers to see the value of having foreign language skills aligned to strategic and operational priorities starting with career planning.

As a multicultural nation, Australia has a wide diversity of languages which need to be harnessed to advance our place in the world.

Love a good steak holder.

What a load of codswollop. If you want to bore kids to death and
encourage them to leave school early, just force them to learn
foreign languages! This would be a massive waste of resources.
Given that we don't even seemingly have enough resources to train
Australian doctors, but need to steal them from places like
Bangaladesh and Nigeria, wasting money on teaching languages to
those who have no interest in learning them, is a complete folly.

Australia is not Switzerland, where three languages are spoken
within a few km. We already have a huge number of migrants trained
to speak foreign languages. No doubt they can use their skills to
get a job. Great.

Make learning languages voluntary for those who want to learn them,
but for heaven's sake don't put kids off school completely with this
rot

Migrants come to this country and DO NOT pass on their language to their children.

It's a bloody disgrace.

And letting Australia down.

Too busy getting tattoo's and the latest gadget or car or whatever!

Agreed Yabby. It just doesn’t add up. There are many much more important things to learn than a second language.

Students need to have a fully informed choice and not be in any way pressured to learn another language.

English is the universal language. In any country where English is the second language yes it should be compulsory. But in Australia a second language should be entirely a matter of student choice.

What we really need to make compulsory in our education system is a study of real economics, environmentalism and the things we need to do to achieve a sustainable society, and how on earth we might achieve these in the face of a government (Labor or Liberal) which just continues to take us in totally the wrong direction!

This is vastly more important than a second language.

I made both my daughters do French and Latin not because I wanted them to learn a foreign language but because I wanted them to learn the principles of good grammar. It worked and that I think is the great benefit of studying a foreign language.